Edgar Rice Burroughs

Tarzan of the Apes Annotated Edgar Rice Burroughs

Tarzan of the Apes is a 1912 novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the first in a series of twenty-four books about the title character Tarzan. It was first published in the pulp magazine The All-Story in October 1912 before being released a book in 1914.[1]The story follows Tarzan's adventures, from his childhood being raised by apes in the jungle to his eventual encounters with other humans and Western society. So popular was the character that Burroughs continued the series into the 1940s with two dozen sequels.[2]In April, 2012, the novel's centennial anniversary, the Library of America published a hardcover edition based on Burroughs' original book, with an introduction by Thomas Mallon.(ISBN 978-1-59853-164-0). Scholars have noted several important themes in the novel: the impact of heredity on behavior; racial superiority; civilization, especially as Tarzan struggles with his identity as a human; sexuality; and escapism.